Sunday, November 2, 2008

Today we're happy to host Angela Wieck, co-founder of EcoBrain (www.EcoBrain.com), an independent eBook distributor and the only online retailer of eBooks dedicated to the environment and environmentally friendly living. We partner with EcoBrain, which offers its customers to plant trees with Eco-Libris), and today we have the pleasure to bring you an article of Angela about one of the most interesting issues in the book industry - eBooks vs. paper books: which option is greener?

eBooks - A Greener Choice or Not?

Lately there has been quite a bit of debate about whether eBooks really are greener than paper books or not. This surprised me because I thought it was obvious. However, the more I read, the more I wanted to learn. My conclusion is that yes, eBooks are greener. Read on to find out why.

One big variable is whether or not you use an eBook reader. Some companies that offer eBook readers require that you buy the eBooks from them as the file type is proprietary. So if you buy a Kindle, you must buy the associated eBook for the Kindle from Amazon. From a profit perspective this is understandable. However, as a consumer this smells of monopoly to me. It also raises the question of whether the ebook reader’s production and eventual disposal make ebooks a less green option.

The debate about eBooks being a greener choice gets radically simplified if we take eBook readers out of the equation. Let’s do that. because you don’t need one anyway. As a consumer you can choose to purchase a file type that does not require a dedicated eBook device that may be expensive and one day end up in a landfill. For example, at EcoBrain.com the majority of our files are PDFs - you can read them on whatever computer you already have. Removing eBook readers from the equation makes this much easier.

I already own a computer. Don’t you? You probably wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t. So for someone who already owns a computer, the green choice of buying and eBook over a paper book is clear. Don’t get me wrong - I love paper books and enjoy relaxing with a great novel. However, those I get from the library. For the majority of books to own, eBooks are clear winners.

Think about the following facts from Conservatree:

24 trees are required to produce a ton of printing paper for books

12 trees are harvested for a ton of newsprint

up to 35% of books printed for consumers are never read - they are returned to the publisher to be destroyed

A mature tree can produce enough oxygen in a year for 10 people to inhale in a year. Never mind that forests are a place of majesty where precious ecosystems exist. eBooks are created electronically and no trees are cut down to produce them, no ink is used, no fossil fuel to run the printing presses or to deliver them. eBooks don’t need heated or cooled warehouses to store them. eBooks are delivered to you electronically. They are disposed of by using your delete key. They will never take up landfill.

The pollution put out by the pulp and paper industry is another consideration. With the increasing trend towards overseas printing, many books are now printed in Asia, shipped to a local port, trucked to a distribution center and then shipped to a store or to your home if purchased online. Even if the paper for the book was sourced locally, pulp and paper is the third largest industrial polluter to air, water, and land in Canada and the United States, releasing well over 100 million kg (220 million pounds) of toxic pollution each year. While many publishers are making positive strides to produce recycled books, the bottom line is that there is still a huge environmental cost.

Now, to be completely fair, even eBooks used on your existing computer consume some energy. We should assume you run your computer longer in order to read the eBook.I found anexcellent analysisof the energy consumed written up by Pablo Päster. It reads:

“My laptop uses about 30 watts (more during start-up). In the time it takes to read a page (8.5 x 11), let's say two minutes, the computer will use 0.001 kWh (kilowatt-hours) of electricity. For a 100-page document this adds up to 0.1 kWh of electricity, costing you less than 2 cents on your electricity bill. The generation of electricity creates about 1,000 pounds of greenhouse gases per MWh (megawatt-hour), or 1 pound per kWh, depending on where your electricity comes from. This means that reading a 100-page document on your laptop causes about one-tenth of a pound of greenhouse gas emissions. Pretty small. But how does that compare to paper?”

And with an eye to the future, isn’t it easier to generate renewable electrical power sources than to try to make the paper industry pollution free? Is the latter even possible?

So save trees, reduce pollution and breathe easier. I don’t see a downside. Do you?

The main obstacle left is to win over consumers. Given the clear green choice perhaps more consumers will give eBooks a try. If each of us choose to purchase 4 or 5 eBooks a year versus paper books, the impact would be huge. Americans alone buy 3 billion books a year. Imagine the trees we could save. Choosing an eBook is another conscious choice we make, much like choosing to use a canvas bag when we shop and say no to petroleum based plastic bags. Together, we can make a world of difference.

For those who haven’t tried an eBook, here are some additional considerations that focus on the eBook experience:

Portability- You can own an entire digital library of books on your laptop or computer. No space is taken up on shelves and you can take them all with you!

Convenience- eBooks download instantly. You can read them anytime, anywhere!

Ease of Use- Click to turn pages, find what you are looking for fast by searching, use the built-in dictionary, bookmark pages, and so on. Super easy to use!

Great prices- Most of our eBooks are about 30% below the MSRP.

Now until November 11, 2008 at EcoBrain.com new customers get a $5 site credit. There are lots of books for under $5, so give EcoBrain and eBooks a try. We also have a freebie (and paper free) available on the home page. So try an eBook for free. See what you think. I bet you’ll find it easier than you thought. Maybe you’ll even choose to buy one over a paper book and help green our world.

ebooks vs. paper books:

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

Founded in 2007, Eco-Libris is a green company working to green up the book industry in the digital age by promoting the adoption of green practices in the book industry, balancing out books by planting trees, and helping to make e-reading greener.

To achieve these goals Eco-Libris is working with book readers, publishers, authors, bookstores and others in the book industry worldwide. So far Eco-Libris balanced out over 179,500 books, which results in more than 200,000 new trees planted with its planting partners in developing countries.